Sweet Sensations
by Esmooria
Summary: AU. When Kagome and Sesshoumaru are stuck together as partners during their cooking lab, something cooks up between the two of them.
1. Stuck

**A/N:** This story is written for the Cherry on Top Challenge at dokuga_contest. The prompt for this particular story was 'peach.'

Because I am in baking school and couldn't resist this little fic. ;) This is my attempt for some small humor; it's my first try so forgive me if my humor doesn't quite work. I will work on it, for sure.

**Word Count:** 1,500.

Please enjoy this little AU fic! It will only be 10 chapters long, as that is how long the challenge is.

* * *

**Stuck**

Kagome stared at her schedule for another full two minutes before she could find the actual room number for her first lab, unsure if her lack of comprehension was because of an unclearly written schedule or her own clouded mind. She was _not_ a morning person—so, of course, she was scheduled for the 7 AM lab.

As she made her way to K1—not even a _real_ room number, she justified within her mind—she let out a small yawn, not even attempting to appear more awake than she was. Big brown eyes scanned the school, taking in anything and everything that she possibly could. It was incredibly small in her mind, yet not knowing _anybody_ there made it seem bigger than it was. She was the only one of her friends that had decided on culinary school rather than going to a university.

Her distraction was so great that she almost missed her lab; the doorway to the kitchen was nestled neatly in a corner, and when she entered she was surprised at how big it seemed. The only kitchen she'd ever worked in had been her own, and this was at _least_ ten times the size.

"Go grab a seat." Kagome nearly jumped when she heard the voice of a woman, and turned to see who the voice belonged to. She was short, with dark hair that was almost black, and dark, brown eyes. She wore squared glasses, and had almost an amused look in her eyes—and that's when Kagome realized she hadn't responded.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she gave who she could only assume was her chef instructor a small smile. "Where are the seats?"

"In the spice closet back there," she said with a nod of her head, and Kagome turned and grabbed herself a seat.

* * *

Upon the instructor's speech, Kagome realized she noticed a hint of an Italian accent, and she smiled when she mentioned that she grew up in Italy until she was 12, and then moved to her birthplace—Tokyo. Kagome's lack of morning awareness was cured by her chef's lively—not to mention hardcore—attitude.

"Don't even _think_ about trying to pull anything over on me," the chef warned, her eyes locking with every single student in the room. Her eyes lingered longest on the group of youkai that had seemed to be drawn together, as if she could sense that one of them was about to speak up.

"And what are you gonna do if we do?" These words were followed by a smirk, all from a cocky wolf youkai—bringing the entire youkai group into a snicker.

The look the chef instructor gave them was intimidating enough to make all who were behind him back down, silencing immediately. "What's your name, wolf?"

"Kouga." His confidence remained, despite her intimidation. What made _his_ eyes widen, though, was the smirk that stretched across her lips—and suddenly, his confidence had vanished.

"Kouga—you _do_ realize I'm a miko, don't you?" When Kouga's smirk had been wiped completely off of his face, Chef Kaede turned to give a wink towards Kagome, which Kagome could only assume meant that Chef Kaede knew about her own miko abilities—however untrained they were.

"Now, go to commissary and pick up your uniforms. Just tell them what size you'll need, and they'll give you three of everything. Toques, neckerchiefs, jackets, pants, aprons, shoes, and sidetowels. You must be in _full_ uniform every day for lab, or you'll be kicked out of lab. Your nametags will arrive next week, and they will be included in the uniform."

"The list on the bulletin board contains your partners—you will be with them throughout the rest of the quarter. If you don't like working with them…tough. You won't like everyone you have to work with in this industry; chances are, you won't like _most_ of them. So deal with it."

* * *

Kagome, now dressed in full uniform since it was the second week of classes and they'd actually be _cooking_ today, rushed over to the list as the rest of the class did, eyes scanning the white piece of paper for her name. She had to keep from gasping as she read the name—_Sesshoumaru Taishou_.

If she had to pick a partner, he would've been her _last_ choice. It was nothing against him, really, it was just that he was one of the more _intimidating_ youkai—and he hadn't said a word since coming to the class. Even so, Kagome found herself highly doubting that he _couldn't_ talk.

And she didn't even want to _think_ about how strong his demonic aura was. She could tell he was _incredibly_ strong. Kagome wasn't one to be strictly intimidated—but it would've been nice to get a partner she thought she had a chance at being friends with. Or at least talking with somewhat pleasantly.

She cast a sidelong glance at her newest friend, Sango—the two girls had hoped they'd get each other as a partner.

"Well, it looks like we'll be partners, dearest Sango!" Not long after Miroku's flirtatious words the class heard a resounding _slap_. Sango's face was almost as red as the handprint against Miroku's face, but Miroku appeared to have harbored no regrets.

"Keep your wandering hands to yourself, _you_—"

Kagome rolled her eyes and elbowed Sango's arm gently, smiling at her. "Hey, at least you got a partner who will talk to you."

Shooting a glare at the younger girl, Sango shook her head. "I'll trade you," she begged, but Kaede smirked, winking at the two girls again.

"Not a chance, girls. Partner up!"

* * *

Studying his nametag for far longer than she really needed to before looking up, golden eyes locked onto her with an emotionless expression.

"So, you're in the culinary program, huh?"

He stared at her as if it was the obvious answer—it _was_ right on his nametag, after all. Kagome decided not to be discouraged by this, and just smiled at him again.

"I'm in the baking program. I much prefer making something sweet!"

Another length of silence stretched on, and Kagome sighed as she returned to her work, delicately working the chef's knife around the peach, making sure not to damage the knife with the pit in between.

"Don't forget to cut the skin off," Sesshoumaru said as an off-handed comment, and Kagome almost dropped her knife at the sound.

_He __can__ talk!_

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to!" Her surprise was not evident in her tone; she felt like she hid it up pretty well. Although, if she would've known just how sensitive the youkai's nose was, she wouldn't have even bothered covering it up. Sesshoumaru only smirked, which went unseen by Kagome, suddenly 100% focused on her peach.

* * *

"Done!" She nearly beamed at her work; it wasn't the _best_ looking peach pie in the world—okay, it was downright ugly—but it was the _first_ thing she made in culinary school, and she was proud of it!

Sesshoumaru's eye nearly twitched as he looked down at the object Kagome was so proud of, a mixture of horror amusement in his eyes.

"What…is…_that_?"

Kagome's face turned red, both embarrassed and angered, as he looked at her poor pie. "What do you mean what is that? You haven't even tasted it yet!"

"…I don't eat things that look like something I could pull from a dumpster."

Well, _he_ was certainly getting wordy.

"What are you talking about? I think that's being a bit harsh, don't you?"

Sesshoumaru, who hadn't stopped staring at the pie, only shook his head slightly. "No."

Kagome's shoulders sagged; she didn't think her pie was _that_ bad.

She whirled on him, staring daggers. "You're _going_ to try it! You're my partner, after all! If you don't even try it, it's going to look like it actually _tastes _bad!"

"No, it is going to look like it tastes bad because it is ugly." Sesshoumaru had to work harder than usual to keep his face an emotionless mask—the look on Kagome's face and the anger in her scent was the most amusing thing he'd seen in awhile.

"It is not _ugly_! It's my first pie, give me a break!"

"You're in baking, and it is your _first_ pie?"

"Well…the first pie I had to cut the peaches myself for!"

Sesshoumaru only shook his head and continued working on his part of their assignment—a basic rice dish.

* * *

When the class had 'plated up,' as Chef Kaede had called it, the students lined up and waited for instructions to continue. First, Chef Kaede walked down the line of food in front of her, examining each thing with care. When she came to the dessert section, she studied it for a moment, and then stopped.

"…What is _that_?"

Sesshoumaru failed to control his snicker as Kagome's face reddened once more, shoulders sagging before catching the twinkle in her chef instructor's eyes.

"Thanks a _lot_, Chef Kaede."

* * *

**End Note:** Plating up is what _my_ chef instructor called it last quarter whenever we put all the food on the table to present it. We did this every day-no exceptions. :) Also, my culinary school is based on a quarter system. It's six quarters long. The first quarter, all the culinary/baking students are in basic culinary skills, and the second quarter all the culinary/baking students are in baking I lab. (That is where I am currently.) After that, the culinary students focus on culinary arts, and the baking students focus on baking and pastry arts, and they are no longer in lab together. It will be so with this fic, as well.

Oh, another thing that you may have noticed-Kaede is _not_ as old here as she is in the series. She's in her late 30's here. She's also based _exactly_ on my chef instructor last quarter, who I absolutely _love_. So much that she's invited to my wedding, btw. Okay, enough explanations for now!

Please review! ;)


	2. Bland

**A/N:** This is written for dokuga_contest's Cherry on Top Challenge. The prompt for this chapter was 'vanilla.'

I must say, I'm very proud of myself for finishing this one today. While in the middle of writing it, I got a new bridal magazine in the mail, and I finished without putting it on hold for hours while I lost myself in the world of wedding planning. ;) (Guess what's happening as soon as I post this, though? :D)

Anyway, please enjoy!

**Word Count:** 912

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**Bland**

"Hmmm…" Kagome propped her elbows up on the table, resting her chin on her fists as she stared at the page that had the recipe for the dish her and Sesshoumaru were assigned to make that day.

"Hmmm…" she repeated, and Sesshoumaru let out a longsuffering sigh before shaking his head.

"Is something confusing you, miko?" Kagome winced; ever since Chef Kaede had let it slip that she, too, had been trained to be a miko, Sesshoumaru had taken to calling her that. But it didn't seem like an _affectionate_ nickname to her—it just seemed like an excuse to not call her by her _real_ name, for whatever reason.

"No, I'm just trying to figure out what we should do with this."

"We should do with it what it _says_ to do with it." He snatched the book from right in front of her, and his eyes only seemed to rest on it for a second before he was off, gathering the ingredients for the day. He was back before Kagome could even figure out what she wanted to do to jazz it up a little bit.

"But…!"

"Just follow the recipe; we will decide what to do with it when it is _done_. We only have two hours, after all."

He was _so_ bossy!

"…Fine," she murmured, struggling to keep her spiritual energy from flaring at her indignation. The better part of her wanted to fight back and argue—but the smaller, more sane part knew she should keep what little peace existed between the two of them. It shouldn't be _that_ hard—Kagome was friends with _everyone_! Why did _he_ have to be so difficult?

* * *

She was toe-to-toe with him, and he found her vanilla-laced scent _more_ than distracting. It was hard to keep his glare intact, though _she_ seemed to have no problem with it.

"Stop being such a jerk! Listen to me, for once!"

In all honesty, he couldn't even remember what they were supposed to be arguing about. Her fiery personality intrigued him, and he found it nearly impossible to stay mad at the miko. As the silence stretched on, her spiritual energy flared, and he rebuffed it with his own youki, if only for a moment.

"Miko." He knew the nickname irked her—he could tell by her scent that her anger flared every time he called her by _that_ name.

"What?" Her voice was colder than he had ever heard it, and her scent altered slightly into something harsher, though he couldn't quite place it. He hated to admit that he already missed the sweetness of her regular scent.

"I'm listening," he informed as he inclined his head, and as quickly as it had left, the sweetness in her scent was back.

"W-What?" He almost smirked as another scent made its way into hers—the scent of confusion.

"What were you trying to say before?"

Her face turned red with embarrassment, and he couldn't understand it—that is, until she spoke once more. "I don't remember," she softly admitted, and with that she turned back to the stove, her shoulders slumped.

_That makes two of us_, he thought, but he wouldn't dare voice it out loud.

* * *

They were about to plate up, and Kagome tiptoed over to grab a fork, sneaking her way to their dish to try a little taste from the perfectly-presented piece. It _looked_ amazing—Sesshoumaru had not let her _near_ the presentation aspect of it—and so she could only assume it tasted just as good.

She was highly disappointed.

The dish was bland, and she had to wonder if Sesshoumaru completely missed the "salt and pepper to taste" instructions.

"Sesshoumaru!"

The scent of their dish wafting from Kagome was enough to tell him that she had taken a taste of it early; he could tell that girl's curiosity was going to aggravate him in the coming months. "Yes, miko?"

She felt an eye twitch coming on, but she managed to take a deep breath and keep it from happening.

"Did you forget to season this?" Her question was simple enough, but the implications that it didn't taste great were there, and Sesshoumaru could feel his own calm slipping. _He_ had tasted it, and it tasted _fine_!

"I do not forget," he replied with a lift of his chin, and Kagome let a sigh escape from her lips. She squared her shoulders and locked her eyes with his.

"It's _bland_, Sesshoumaru. It doesn't really taste like anything!"

He let a low growl slip, but he cleared his throat to try to cover it up. "Perhaps to your _human_ palate, it is bland, but with a youkai's highly sensitive nose, I do not tolerate overly-spiced foods."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "There's a difference between subtle spices and _no flavor at all_. I know there's a happy medium _somewhere_."

"Hn…we will let the class decide who is right here."

* * *

At the end of the day, Sesshoumaru's barely touched dish proved Kagome's victory, much to his chagrin.

"You may control the seasonings next time." Kagome's eyes widened at this; she didn't suspect Sesshoumaru was the type of person to admit he was wrong. Not that he had actually _said_ it, but allowing her to take control of _something_ was certainly an improvement.

He tried to ignore the rapidness of his heart when she gave him a brilliant smile, and not for the first time was relieved that she only had a human nose.

* * *

**End Note:** Hope you liked it! Please review! ;) (Oh, and other characters will be making their way into the next chapter, so while the main focus will be on SessKag, we will get to see some action from others as well.)


	3. Uninvited

**A/N:** Ah! It's been too long since I worked on this story. (: Written for dokuga_contest's Cherry on Top Challenge. The prompt for this particular chapter was 'caramel.'

I do hope you enjoy! I'll admit, this chapter is pretty much pure fluff. ;)

**Word Count:** 1,671

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**Uninvited**

He was standing at the front door. Of her apartment. Where she _lived_.

"Sesshoumaru—what are you _doing_ here?" Brown eyes widened when he gave her no verbal answer, only letting himself in, causing Kagome to side-step to avoid being hit. Her eyes fell to the grocery bags in his hands, and she stood there open-mouthed as he walked to her kitchen, putting the things on the counter without a word. "Sesshoumaru?" she tried again, but he was more than distracted.

Golden eyes swept over the messy apartment, causing a blush to creep over Kagome's features.

"If you would have called, I could have cleaned up a bit!" she defended when she saw his raised brow.

"A _bit_?" he questioned lightly, _finally_ actually looking at her. Her anger flared and he had to hold back a smirk.

"Well how was I supposed to know I'd be hosting a snooty youkai today?"

This time, Sesshoumaru _did_ smirk. "You are messy—I am not surprised."

Kagome's shoulders slumped just slightly before she stood up straight, crossing her arms defiantly. "Why didn't you call first?"

She had to wonder how Sesshoumaru managed to look _elegant_ when he shrugged his shoulder. "I did not have your number," he interjected, and Kagome's mouth fell open again.

"But you had my _address_?"

"No, I had your scent." He had to admit that he liked being at Kagome's apartment, despite the less-than-clean atmosphere. Her scent filled the whole apartment, and it soothed him.

"Oh." She frowned and walked over to the kitchen as well, propping her elbow on the counter and looking up at him with curious eyes. "So, what _are_ you doing here, anyway?"

Lifting a clawed hand, he patted the grocery bags on the counter. "I am going to tutor you."

She nearly blanched at that. "You think I need _tutoring_?" He smirked as her anger flared again, simply nodding.

"You have seen your presentation as well, have you not? I believe it would benefit you to receive some tutoring before our practical. You'll need time to learn."

"The practical isn't for another six weeks!"

Golden eyes swept over her again as another smirk crept onto his features. "I have seen your presentation; it is _not_ something you should put off any longer."

Kagome huffed, but she knew he was right—and she guessed she appreciated that he cared about her grade enough to actually show up at her house and 'tutor' her. "Fine—I'll accept your help."

Just as Sesshoumaru had resigned himself to victory, he saw the smug look on Kagome's face—and was suddenly confused.

"On one condition," she continued, and Sesshoumaru suddenly felt the urge to roll his eyes. "You have to let _me_ tutor you on flavoring!"

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he let a sigh pass through his lips. "Fine. But _you_ will learn first."

Lifting her head up slightly, she gave him a smile—though it was almost a smirk. "Agreed." Just as quickly, she had delved into the ingredients in his grocery bag and were pulling them all out on the counter, excitedly going through all the ingredients. "What are we making?"

Sesshoumaru crossed the threshold into her kitchen, surprised to find that, though her apartment was messy her kitchen was _spotless_. He reached over the sink, grabbing a few of the ingredients from the counter as he looked at Kagome through the window that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Filet mignon."

"Oooh!" Kagome smiled before entering the kitchen herself, getting out pots and pans and cutting boards and knives. As she reached for the package of raw meat, Sesshoumaru grabbed her wrist, and she looked up at him in awe.

"Not _yet_," he murmured, releasing her hand when he realized she was too stunned to continue. He pulled out the fruits and vegetables he had brought, then placed them on the cutting board with a smirk. "First, you'll practice your cutting skills. You will make a flower out of a tomato."

"But—that's not even something we need for this class!" she protested, and Sesshoumaru raised a slim brow at her.

"It is easy—and if you do not accomplish the more basic things, doing _this_ on the practical is sure to distract from your sloppy presentation."

"Sesshoumaru! You're such a jerk!"

* * *

"Like this?" All the other fruits and vegetables had been cut, diced, and arranged—and Sesshoumaru had to admit that she was a quick learner, which was not something he had given her credit for yet.

"No," he said coolly, but instead of picking up the tomato and tossing it like he had the other three she'd ruined, he took her hand with the knife and gently guided it. "Like _this_," he corrected. The slow, steady beating of his heart increased just slightly, though he was sure Kagome couldn't hear it. He was pleased to note that _her_ heart was fluttering, too, and he had to hide his smile behind another correction as she moved the knife in the wrong direction, not following his lead. "Like _this_," he reiterated, letting a sigh pass through his lips. "Let me guide your hand, and then you can try the next one on your own."

A blush of an entirely different kind spread across Kagome's face, so she kept her eyes glued on the tomato. "O-Okay," she murmured softly, letting him guide her. She was surprised at how gentle he was, given the strength she knew he possessed. Within just a couple minutes, Sesshoumaru had released her hand, and she was staring at a perfectly designed tomato flower.

"Your turn," he murmured, and she looked up at him. Before he knew it, she was giving him another brilliant smile as she went to work.

"Done!" she said, about twenty minutes later.

"Finally."

She shot him a glare, but said nothing—instead, she only presented her masterpiece. He noted that she had taken extra care not to mess it up, and though it was not as well-done as his own flower, it actually looked like a flower, which pleased him. "What do you think?" she asked, trepidation lacing her voice.

"It is acceptable," he said with a nod, and she smiled brightly at him. It wasn't exactly a compliment—but she felt it was high praise coming from _him_. "Now we may prepare dinner."

* * *

"What do you think?" Hopeful eyes rested on Sesshoumaru as he slowly chewed his steak—but she couldn't tell from his face what he thought of it.

She seemed to be squirming in her current position, wrinkling the blanket she'd put on the floor. Since she didn't have any sort of table in her apartment, they'd been reduced to a blanketed floor—which honestly gave the feel of a picnic. Finally, when she had suffered enough, he decided to give her a verbal answer.

"It was a good idea to allow you to control the seasoning," he slowly admitted, and Kagome thought she could definitely take _that_ as a compliment.

"You like it!" she exclaimed, relief obvious in her eyes. "_See_, there's a balance! I like it, and you like it, even with you having such heightened senses!" In an instant she had bounced up and was running over to the kitchen again.

"What are you doing _now_?" After being with her an entire evening, he was beginning to get a sense of her scattered personality—and her slight short attention span.

"Dessert!"

He stared at her unfinished dinner and gave her a pointed look. "You're done eating already?"

Kagome laughed, sitting down next to him with the plate in her hands. They'd made brownies with hot fudge, and she had just topped it with ice cream and caramel syrup. "Of course not! But why save the dessert until the end?"

He blinked slowly. Was she serious? Eating dessert in the _middle_ of dinner? "Saving the best for last?" he questioned, both sarcasm and curiosity in her voice. When she took a big bite out of the hot brownie, his eyes widened. She really _was_ serious.

Letting out a slow giggle, she dipped her finger in the ice cream-caramel mixture. "Oh, Sesshoumaru, you're no fun! Lighten up a bit!" With this, she reached over and smeared the mixture on his nose—a line straight down the middle.

"You will regret that, miko," he said, giving her his best glare, but it only caused her to giggle more. However, the laughter stopped when she realized she was suddenly not holding the dessert plate on her lap any longer.

Sesshoumaru was across the room, brownie plate in hand. Her eyes widened; she hadn't even seen him _move_!

Her words came out in a jumble as the goopy mess dripped off her face, and she dove for the blanket, grabbing the first thing she could reach, which happened to be the steak sauce.

"This is _war_," she declared, fire in her eyes and brilliance in her smile.

* * *

By the end of the night, Kagome's apartment was trashed. They'd switched between eating and fighting the entire night, and food was scattered everywhere—though, after the brownie and the sauce, they'd at least made the decision not to throw food that would be _too_ difficult to clean up. But Kagome's eyes widened when he made his way to the door.

"You're _not_ leaving me to clean this mess up on my own!" She gave him a pout that he pointedly ignored.

"I will see you tomorrow," he declared before turning heel and running, smirking to himself at his brilliance in leaving her to clean the messy apartment.

* * *

**End Note:** Please review! :)


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